WITH Datuk Abdul Farid Alias stepping down as Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) group president and CEO come August, Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican Mohd Wahiduddin Merican and Datuk Muzaffar Hisham are said to be in the running to fill the void as head honcho of Malaysia’s largest bank by market capitalisation and total assets.
Industry sources told DagangNews.com that Rafique who is the group CEO of Maybank Islamic and Muzaffar – the head of global banking – have been part of Maybank’s top echelon for years.
“Maybank has always been proud of its succession planning to groom its future leaders. Previously, the bank had called the top hierarchy as the ‘exco’, meaning once the president resigns or retires, any one of the exco heads will be the next president,” a source said.
“In this case, the head of Islamic banking, head of international business and group chief financial officer (CFO) are always prepped to become future leaders of the bank.”
Henceforth, the three top lieutenants of the president could become the next Maybank big boss, according to the sources.
“Traditionally, the post of Maybank president does not come from outside (external candidate) because the bank has done a lot of work for succession planning,” noted a source.
After all, Farid himself was also formerly the bank’s head of international business before he was appointed president in 2013.
Nevertheless, the candidate could come from outside or there could be a political appointment.
“We are just digesting the news and so far, there is nothing yet,” said the source.
Rafique has over 20 years of corporate sector experience with nine years spent as the CFO of several Malaysian listed corporates. They include an independent power producer, an electricity company and Maybank Group.
Muzzaffar meanwhile is the bank’s current group CEO of global banking since 2016. He has over 20 years’ experience in Islamic and conventional banking and was formerly Maybank Islamic Bhd’s CEO and group Islamic banking head.
“Don’t discount other key personnel in Maybank to become the next president such as the CFO or (other candidates from) Maybank Indonesia or other divisions. You will never know,” noted the source.
He added Farid’s replacement will be announced early to ensure a smooth transition of power and maintain company stability.
At 9,41am, Maybank was up 1 sen or 0.12% to RM8.35 with 218,000 shares traded, thus valuing the bank at RM99.19 bil. – Jan 11, 2022
